From SHOT Show

Media day at the 2010 SHOT Show was greeted with the first of what promises to be a series of winter storms coming from the Pacific. The entire western region has been suffering from lack of rain throughout 2009 and into the beginning weeks of 2010. The normally sunny and pleasant temperatures of Las Vegas gave way to highs in mid 40’s, rain and wind all day Monday. The first day of SHOT Show officially begins on tuesday. Various company’s sponsor media days at various site around Las Vegas. The Bass Pro Shops Media Day was held at the Boulder City Rifle and Pistol Club located southeast of Las Vegas. Most of the ranges were occupied by various manufactures giving the press and media a chance to try out the product offerings.

Beretta

My first stop was Beretta where I had the chance to shoot the PX4 a , polymer bodied 9mm that would have application in USPSA Production class. The PX4 is available as either a double/single action called the “F” series or as double action only “C” series. The “C” designation stands for “Constant”, as the trigger pull is constant in it’s length and weight. Shooting both guns I was more impressed with the DAO “C” series than I was with the DA/SA “F” series.

Shooting the “F” series the first shot is a heavy and long trigger pull. Once fired the gun is now in SA mode with the trigger significantly rearward of the DA position. As with most DA/SA guns the SA trigger weight is much less, but to me the difference in the trigger position was the most distracting.

The “C” series DAO trigger felt lighter, and the trigger pull shorter, than the first shot DA of the “F” series. The repeatability of the trigger position and the constant trigger pull made for more controlled followup shots.

Holding the Px4 back from being a first choice to compete in production will be the barrel length of only 4″ in the full size gun.

Glock

The next stop was Glock who is showing off the latest generation of pistols, appropriately called Gen4. The two models are the 17 Gen4 in 9×19 and the 22 Gen4 in .40S&W.

The 17 and 22 have been around for many years and the Gen4 is the latest iteration of these models. The significant feature of the Gen4 is the addition of interchangeable back-straps. Three sizes of back-strap are available, small, medium, and large.

The grip also has a new texture that is a pattern of round bumps covering the side panels. A reversible magazine catch allows the gun to be setup for either right of left handed shooters. A new double recoil spring is designed to reduce recoil.

The 17 Gen4 should feel familiar to anyone whose shot a previous generation Glock 17. Not being a full time Glock shooter I’d have to shoot the two side-by-side to be able to compare the recoil reduction claims of the dual-spring recoil assembly. I hope to have one in hand to run a full review soon.

One significant difference that is immediately apparent when using the small or medium back-strap is the shortening of the trigger pull, which is significant for shooters with smaller hands or short fingers.

Ruger

Ruger was displaying the SR9c. The “C” designation means compact. My objective was to evaluate guns that might be feasible for USPSA Production competition, so the compact wasn’t my interest. Unfortunately they didn’t have the full-size version available to shoot at the range.

So I shot the compact. What impressed me was the out-of-the-box trigger on the SR9. The trigger has a very moderate trigger travel and trigger pull. I was very impressed with this DAO system. This would be a viable gun for a beginning Action Shooter to bring to the range. As with the Beretta, the 4.14″ barrel length may be a hindrance for serious competition.

The question for these manufactures is why aren’t they campaigning to get their guns into the hands of Action Shooting competitors. With the exception of Glock who has been a mainstay in Action Shooting for years, the other companies aren’t represented in any significant numbers.

New shooters show up to their first matches with these guns, only to realize that the guns aren’t used by the serious competitors and the new shooter either doesn’t continue with the sport or they quickly purchase another manufacturers gun.

How can Beretta, Taurus, Ruger and others become popular or at least represented in Action Shooting? The first is the manufacturers have to recognize the impact on sales that can be derived from new shooters seeing their guns being used in competition. Providing sponsorships will show their guns being competitive by top competitors. Becoming involved in the regional and national championships as either match sponsors or stage sponsors will demonstrate the manufacturers commitment to the competition shooting market.

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